Time ball



'3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Feb. 11, 1941. c. o. GOODRICH TIME BALI! FiledAug. 18 1957 Feb. 11, 1941. c. o. GOODRICH TIME BALL Filed Aug. 18, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS- Feb. 11, 1941. c. o. GOODRICH TIME BALL Filed Aug. 18. 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 (7707/66 0 fioadrz'ciz INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 11, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to time balls and has for an object to provide a time ball especially designed for use in show windows, and any other place, and which will drop each day at noon sharp, or any other fixed time, then move slowly upin position again through a period of about four minutes and forty-five seconds where it remains until the next noon hour or any other fixed time.

A further object is to provide a time ball having novel electrically operated timing means for releasing the ball and closing a circuit through a motor to immediately return the ball to initial position and out 01f current from the motor circuit.

A further object is to provide a device of this character having a novel trigger and spring operated wedge half nut for returning the ball to initial position.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which will be formed of a few strong simple and durable parts, which will be inexpensive to manufacture, and which will not easily get out of order and can be used to operate other devices.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood that various modifications may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification- Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a time ball constructed in accordance with the invention and showing the time ball in position to drop.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view similar to Figure 1 but showing the ball in dropped posi tion.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional View of the time ball taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the time ball taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Referring now to the drawings in which like characters of reference designate similar parts in the various views, It designates a hollow base from which rises a pair of hollow columns II upon the upper ends of which the hollow cap member I2 is supported. The hollow base houses the clockwork operated electric timing mechanism I3 and also the operating motor l4 while the top cap houses the trigger release mechanism l5 and also the motor control switch mechanism Hi.

The time ball I! is provided with a substantially cylindrical interior body l8 for weighting the ball. The body is provided with a vertical passage 19 which is provided with an enlarged tapered intermediate portion 20 the same terminating in a uniformly enlarged cylindrical lower end 2|. The purpose of this contour of the passage is to receive a sleeve trigger 22 of similar contour, the sleeve projecting below the bottom of the body and also above the top of the body and terminating above the top of the body in two spaced collars having circumferential teeth 23 and 24. The sleeve is loose on a guide rod 25.

The guide rod 25 is received in the sleeve trigger and is equipped with a stop collar 26 underneath which a compression spring 21 is sleeved upon the guide rod. When the ball drops the trigger 22 impinges against the stop collar 26 and the shock of the fall is absorbed by the spring.

The ball is normally locked at its upper limit of movement by a bell crank shaped dog 28 which engages underneath the uppermost set of teeth 24, as best shown in Figure 1. One leg of the dog constitutes an armature 29 which, when an electro-magnetic coil 33 is energized, is attracted to the core of the coil and releases the dog from engagement with the teeth to permit the ball to instantly drop.

The ball drops each noon or any other fixed time and for timing release of the dog 28 to permit this movement of the ball a twenty-four tooth gear wheel 3| driven by clockwork mechanism, not shown, has fixed to one side a cam 32, the high point of which is adapted to ride against a spring metal switch contact 33 and move the contact to engage a stationary contact 34. These contacts form circuit closers in a circuit 35 in which the magnetic coil 30 of the trigger release mechanism is connected, as is also the electromagnetic coil 36, which controls a dog 31 which engages the toothed wheel 3|. Thus when any predetermined time arrives the clockwork mech-- anism will dispose the cam 32 to move the contacts 33 and 34 to circuit closing position. The circuits through both coils will be closed simultaneously and the dog 28 will be attracted by the magnet 30 and will release the triggersleeve to permit the ball to drop. At the same time the dog 31 will be attracted by the core of the magnetic coil 33 and advance the cam wheel one notch to move the high point of the cam oiT of the contact 33 and open the circuit.

When the dog 29 is attracted by the electromagnetic coil 30 to release the ball the trigger moves downward as a unit with the ball and a forked arm 38 which straddles the guide rod 25, as best shown in Figures 1 and 3 which previously had rested upon the top of the trigger, is permitted to drop, as shown in Figure 2. The arm carries a disc 39 which is pivotally mounted on a bracket 40 so that when the arm drops the disc will be rotated to advance a notch 4| in its periphery in an angular direction and dislodge a switch contact 42 from the notch. The switch contact is pivoted at one end on a post 43 and is weighted as shown at 44 so that it rides on the periphery of the disc. When on the periphery of the disc the contact engages a switch contact 45 which is pivotally mounted on an arm 46 that extends from a post 41 and is limited in its pivotal movement by an adjusting screw 48.

The contacts 42 and 45 form a circuit closer for the motor circuit comprising the conductor wires 49 and 50 which are connected to a suitable source of current such as a H volt service line.

When the motor is thus energizeda worm on the motor shaft 52 rotates a worm gear 53 which is fixed to a shaft 54 that is supported in a bearing 55 on the bottom of the hollow base l0 and in a bearing 56 in the bottom of the cap member l2. The shaft rises through a passage in the ball and body is provided with worm teeth 51.

The worm teeth on the shaft engage similar teeth on a half nut 58 which is wedge shape in vertical cross section and is mounted on the end of a leaf spring 59 which is fixed at one end to the upper end of the body l8.

When as previously described the ball gravitates at noon it strikes forcibly against the stop collar 26 and the toothed half nut 48 of wedge shape contour becomes wedged against the tapered surface 20 of the sleeve trigger, as best shown in Figure 4. Consequently when the shaft 54 is rotated as just described the nut will be fed upwardly carrying along with it the wedged body [8 of the ball I! and this movement is continued during about a four minute and fortyfive second time period until the ball reaches approximately its normal position on the guide rod 25.

The top of the threaded end of the trigger sleeve will strike the forked arm 38 and start raising the arm as the ball nears its upper limit of movement. Eventually the contact 42 will drop into the notch 4| and open the motor circuit but at this time a contact 60, best shown in Figures 1 and 2, on the arm 38, will engage a fixed contact Bl which is connected to the circuit wire 49 by conductor 62. The conductor 63 is connected to the conductor 50 by a conductor 62, see Fig. 1. Thus the motor circuit is momentarily again. closed. At this point a collar 63 on the guide rod 25 engages with a sleeve bearing 54 into which the upper end of the guide rod is fitted and continued rotation of the shaft 54 begins to feed the wedge shaped half nut 58 along the leaf spring 59, see Figure 3, and dislodges it from wedging engagement with the trigger. At this moment the threaded end of the trigger has advanced to the proper point to permit engagement of the dog 28 to hold the parts in initial position ready for the next operation.

For testing purposes a manually operable switch 65 is connected in the circuit of the electro-magnetic coils 39 and 36 to shunt out the contacts 33 and 34, as indicated at 63 and 61.

As the description of the operation has been given as the description of the parts progressed it is thought that the invention will be fully understood without further explanation.

What is claimed is,

l. A time ball mechanism comprising, a ball having vertical passages therethrough, a vertical guide rod in one of said passages, a vertical feed screw in another of said passages, a traveling nut yieldably mounted in the ball between the guide rod and the feed screw, a trigger sleeve slidably mounted on the guide rod, a stop for limiting downward movement of the ball and adapted to simultaneously engage the trigger sleeve and move the trigger sleeve to engage the nut and wedge the nut laterally into mesh with the feed screw at the lowest limit of movement of the ball, an electric motor geared to the feed screw for rotating the feed screw to raise the ball after actuation of the trigger sleeve by said stop, a circuit for the motor, a switch controlling the circuit, said trigger being adapted to move the switch to open circuit position when the ball is raised to the upper limit of movement on the guide rod, latching means for engaging the trigger sleeve and releasibly holding the ball at its upper limit of movement, and time controlle d means for releasing the latching means to permit the' ball to drop at a predetermined time.

'2. A time ball mechanism comprising, a ball having vertical passages. therethrough, a vertical guide rod in one of said passages, a vertical feed screw in another of said passages, a traveling nut yieldably mounted in the ball between the guide rod and the feed screw, a trigger sleeve slidably mounted on the guide rod, a stop for limiting downward movement of the ball and adapted to simultaneously engage the trigger sleeve and move the trigger sleeve to engage the nut and wedge the nut laterally into mesh with the feed screw at the lowest limit of movement of the ball, means for rotating the feed screw after actuation of the trigger sleeve by the stop for feed ing the nut upwardly to carry the ball to its normal upper limit of movement on the guide rod, means for releasing said nut from the feed screw and simultaneously latching the ball at the upper limit of movement on the guide rod, and time controlled means for releasing the ball to drop at a predetermined time.

3. A time ball mechanism comprising, a ball having vertical passages therethrough, a vertical guide rod in one of said passages, a vertical feed screw in another of said passages, a traveling nut yieldably mounted in the ball between the guide rod and the feed screw, a trigger sleeve slidably mounted on the guide rod, a stop for limiting downward movement of the ball and adapted to simultaneously engage the trigger sleeve and move the trigger sleeve to engage the nut and wedge the nut laterally into mesh with the feed screw at the lowest limit of movement of the ball, an electric motor geared to the feed screw for rotating the feed screw to carry the ball upward to its upper limit of movement on the guide rod after meshing of the nut with the feed screw, a circuit for the motor, a switch controlling said circuit, a collar on the upper end of the trigger sleeve for opening the switch to cut off the motor when the ball arrives at its upper position on the guide rod, a dog engageable with the collar to yieldably 'hold the ball at its upper limit of movement, an electromagnet for releasing the dog to allow the ball to drop at a predetermined time, a circuit for the electromagnet,

a circuit closer in the electromagnet circuit, a time controlled cam for closing the circuit closer at a predetermined time, a second electromagnet in the last named circuit, and a dog controlled by the last named electromagnet when the circuit closer is closed to move the time controlled cam into position to open said circuit closer.

4. A time ball mechanism comprising, a hollow ball having vertically aligned openings, a weight in the ball having a passage aligned with said openings and having a tapered portion, a trigger sleeve slidably mounted in said passage of similar contour as the passage and projecting through a pair of said aligned openings above and below the ball, a feed screw loosely projecting through another pair of said aligned openings and through the passage in the ball, a guide rod loosely projecting through the trigger sleeve, a leaf spring in said passage connected to the weight, a wedge shaped traveling nut slidably mounted on the spring, a stop for limiting downward movement of the ball on the guide rod and on the feed screw, an electric motor geared to the feed screw for rotating the feed screw when the nut is meshed with the feed screw to raise the ball to normal position on the guide rod, a circuit for the motor, a switch controlling the circuit, means on the trigger sleeve for moving the switch to open circuit position to stop the motor when the ball has reached normal raised position on the guide rod, an electrically con.- trolled latch engaging said means to releasibly latch the ball at its upper limit of movement, a second switch in the motor circuit operated by said means to close the motor circuit momentarily after opening of the first named switch to feed the nut along said spring out of mesh with the feed screw and simultaneously dispose the trigger sleeve to be latched by said latch, and time controlled means for releasing the latch at a predetermined time to permit the ball to gravitate.

CHARLES O. GOODRICH. 

